NATURE and revelation alike testify of God's love. Our Father in heaven is the source of life, of wisdom, and of joy. Look at the wonderful and beautiful things of nature. Think of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and happiness, not only of man, but of all living creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator's love. It is God who supplies the daily needs of all His creatures. In the beautiful words of the psalmist--

"The eyes of all
wait upon Thee;
And Thou givest
them their meat
in due season.
Thou openest Thine
hand, And satisfiest
the desire of every
living thing."
Psalm 145:15, 16.

God made man perfectly
holy and happy;
and the fair earth,
as it came from
the Creator's hand,
bore no blight of
decay or shadow
of the curse. It
is transgression
of God's law--the
law of love--that
has brought woe
and death. Yet even
amid the suffering
that results from
sin, God's love
is revealed. It
is written that
God cursed the ground
for man's sake.
Genesis 3:17. The
thorn and the thistle--the
difficulties and
trials that make
his life one of
toil and care--were
appointed for his
good as a part of
the training needful
in God's plan for
his uplifting from
the ruin and degradation
that sin has wrought.
The world, though
fallen, is not all
sorrow and misery.
In nature itself
are messages of
hope and comfort.
There are flowers
upon the thistles,
and the thorns are
covered with roses.

"God is love" is
written upon every
opening bud, upon
every spire of springing
grass. The lovely
birds making the
air vocal with their
happy songs, the
delicately tinted
flowers in their
perfection perfuming
the air, the lofty
trees of the forest
with their rich
foliage of living
green -- all testify
to the tender, fatherly
care of our God
and to His desire
to make His children
happy.

The word of God
reveals His character.
He Himself has declared
His infinite love
and pity. When Moses
prayed, "Show me
Thy glory," the
Lord answered, "I
will make all My
goodness pass before
thee." Exodus 33:18,
19. This is His
glory. The Lord
passed before Moses,
and proclaimed,
"The Lord, The Lord
God, merciful and
gracious, long-suffering,
and abundant in
goodness and truth,
keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression
and sin." Exodus
34:6, 7. He is "slow
to anger, and of
great kindness,"
"because He delighteth
in mercy." Jonah
4:2; Micah 7:18.

The Son Of God Came From

Heaven To Make Manifest The Father

God has bound our hearts to Him by unnumbered tokens in heaven and in earth. Through the things of nature, and the deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know, He has sought to reveal Himself to us. Yet these but imperfectly represent His love. Though all these evidences have been given, the enemy of good blinded the minds of men, so that they looked upon God with fear; they thought of Him as severe and unforgiving. Satan led men to conceive of God as a being whose chief attribute is stern justice,--one who is a severe judge, a harsh, exacting creditor. He pictured the Creator as a being who is watching with jealous eye to discern the errors and mistakes of men, that He may visit judgments upon them. It was to remove this dark shadow, by revealing to the world the infinite love of God, that Jesus came to live among men.

The Son of God came
from heaven to make
manifest the Father.
"No man hath seen
God at any time;
the only begotten
Son, which is in
the bosom of the
Father, He hath
declared Him." John
1:18. "Neither knoweth
any man the Father,
save the Son, and
he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal
Him." Matthew 11:27.
When one of the
disciples made the
request, "Show us
the Father," Jesus
answered, "Have
I been so long time
with you, and yet
hast thou not known
Me, Philip? He that
hath seen Me hath
seen the Father;
and how sayest thou
then, Show us the
Father?" John 14:8,
9.

In describing His
earthly mission,
Jesus said, The
Lord "hath anointed
Me to preach the
gospel to the poor;
He hath sent Me
to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance
to the captives,
and recovering of
sight to the blind,
to set at liberty
them that are bruised."
Luke 4:18. This
was His work. He
went about doing
good and healing
all that were oppressed
by Satan. There
were whole villages
where there was
not a moan of sickness
in any house, for
He had passed through
them and healed
all their sick.
His work gave evidence
of His divine anointing.
Love, mercy, and
compassion were
revealed in every
act of His life;
His heart went out
in tender sympathy
to the children
of men. He took
man's nature, that
He might reach man's
wants. The poorest
and humblest were
not afraid to approach
Him. Even little
children were attracted
to Him. They loved
to climb upon His
knees and gaze into
the pensive face,
benignant with love.

He Spoke The Truth, But Always In Love

Jesus did not suppress one word of truth, but He uttered it always in love. He exercised the greatest tact and thoughtful, kind attention in His intercourse with the people. He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave needless pain to a sensitive soul. He did not censure human weakness. He spoke the truth, but always in love. He denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity; but tears were in His voice as He uttered His scathing rebukes. He wept over Jerusalem, the city He loved, which refused to receive Him, the way, the truth, and the life. They had rejected Him, the Saviour, but He regarded them with pitying tenderness. His life was one of self-denial and thoughtful care for others. Every soul was precious in His eyes. While He ever bore Himself with divine dignity, He bowed with the tenderest regard to every member of the family of God. In all men He saw fallen souls whom it was His mission to save.

Such is the character
of Christ as revealed
in His life. This
is the character
of God. It is from
the Father's heart
that the streams
of divine compassion,
manifest in Christ,
flow out to the
children of men.
Jesus, the tender,
pitying Saviour,
was God "manifest
in the flesh." 1
Timothy 3:16.

It was to redeem
us that Jesus lived
and suffered and
died. He became
"a Man of Sorrows,"
that we might be
made partakers of
everlasting joy.
God permitted His
beloved Son, full
of grace and truth,
to come from a world
of indescribable
glory, to a world
marred and blighted
with sin, darkened
with the shadow
of death and the
curse. He permitted
Him to leave the
bosom of His love,
the adoration of
the angels, to suffer
shame, insult, humiliation,
hatred, and death.
"The chastisement
of our peace was
upon Him; and with
His stripes we are
healed." Isaiah
53:5. Behold Him
in the wilderness,
in Gethsemane, upon
the cross! The spotless
Son of God took
upon Himself the
burden of sin. He
who had been one
with God, felt in
His soul the awful
separation that
sin makes between
God and man. This
wrung from His lips
the anguished cry,
"My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken
Me?" Matthew 27:46.
It was the burden
of sin, the sense
of its terrible
enormity, of its
separation of the
soul from God--it
was this that broke
the heart of the
Son of God.

God Was In Christ,

Reconciling The World Unto Himself

But this great sacrifice was not made in order to create in the Father's heart a love for man, not to make Him willing to save. No, no! "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son." John 3:16. The Father loves us, not because of the great propitiation, but He provided the propitiation because He loves us. Christ was the medium through which He could pour out His infinite love upon a fallen world. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." 2 Corinthians 5:19. God suffered with His Son. In the agony of Gethsemane, the death of Calvary, the heart of Infinite Love paid the price of our redemption.

Jesus said, "Therefore
doth My Father love
Me, because I lay
down My life, that
I might take it
again." John 10:17.
That is, "My Father
has so loved you
that He even loves
Me more for giving
My life to redeem
you. In becoming
your Substitute
and Surety, by surrendering
My life, by taking
your liabilities,
your transgressions,
I am endeared to
My Father; for by
My sacrifice, God
can be just, and
yet the Justifier
of him who believeth
in Jesus."

None but the Son
of God could accomplish
our redemption;
for only He who
was in the bosom
of the Father could
declare Him. Only
He who knew the
height and depth
of the love of God
could make it manifest.
Nothing less than
the infinite sacrifice
made by Christ in
behalf of fallen
man could express
the Father's love
to lost humanity.

"God so loved the
world, that He gave
His only-begotten
Son." He gave Him
not only to live
among men, to bear
their sins, and
die their sacrifice.
He gave Him to the
fallen race. Christ
was to identify
Himself with the
interests and needs
of humanity. He
who was one with
God has linked Himself
with the children
of men by ties that
are never to be
broken. Jesus is
"not ashamed to
call them brethren"
(Hebrews 2:11);
He is our Sacrifice,
our Advocate, our
Brother, bearing
our human form before
the Father's throne,
and through eternal
ages one with the
race He has redeemed--the
Son of man. And
all this that man
might be uplifted
from the ruin and
degradation of sin
that he might reflect
the love of God
and share the joy
of holiness.

Such Love Is Without A Parallel

The price paid for our redemption, the infinite sacrifice of our heavenly Father in giving His Son to die for us, should give us exalted conceptions of what we may become through Christ. As the inspired apostle John beheld the height, the depth, the breadth of the Father's love toward the perishing race, he was filled with adoration and reverence; and, failing to find suitable language in which to express the greatness and tenderness of this love, he called upon the world to behold it. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1. What a value this places upon man! Through transgression the sons of man become subjects of Satan. Through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ the sons of Adam may become the sons of God. By assuming human nature, Christ elevates humanity. Fallen men are placed where, through connection with Christ, they may indeed become worthy of the name "sons of God."

Such love is without
a parallel. Children
of the heavenly
King! Precious promise!
Theme for the most
profound meditation!
The matchless love
of God for a world
that did not love
Him! The thought
has a subduing power
upon the soul and
brings the mind
into captivity to
the will of God.
The more we study
the divine character
in the light of
the cross, the more
we see mercy, tenderness,
and forgiveness
blended with equity
and justice, and
the more clearly
we discern innumerable
evidences of a love
that is infinite
and a tender pity
surpassing a mother's
yearning sympathy
for her wayward
child.